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Alexandria Eschate
king Euthydemus (230-200 BCE)]] Alexandria Eschate (Greek , Latin: Alexandria Ultima, English meaning "Alexandria the Farthest") was founded by Alexander III of Macedon (commonly referred to as Alexander the Great) in August 329 BCEPrevas, John. (2004). Envy of the Gods: Alexander the Great's Ill-Fated Journey across Asia, p. 121. De Capo Press, Cambridge, Mass. ISBN 0-306-81268-1. as his most northerly base in Central Asia. It was established in the southwestern part of the Fergana Valley, on the southern bank of the river Jaxartes (modern name Syr Darya), at the location of the modern city of Khujand (also written Хуҷанд, خجند, Khüjand, Khodzhent, Khudchand, Chodjend: formerly Ispisar, Leninabad, Leninobod, Ленинобод, له‌نین‌آباد), in the state of Tajikistan. Alexander built a 6 kilometer brick wall around the city which, according to the ancient authors, was completed in only about twenty days.Leriche, Pierre. (1993). "L'extreme-orient hellenistique: Le monde de la brique crue." Les Dossiers d'Archeologie. No. 179, Fevrier 1993, p. 82. As with the other cities he founded, had a group of his retired wounded veterans settle there. A Hellenistic outpost in Central Asia , at the entrance to the Ferghana Valley.]] Alexandria Eschate was located around 300km north of Alexandria on the Oxus in Bactria, and being in Sogdian territory had to sustain numerous conflicts with the local population. After 250 BCE, the city probably remained in contact with the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom centered on Bactria, especially when the Greco-Bactrian king Euthydemus I extended his control to Sogdiana. Contacts with China The city was also located around 400km west of the Tarim Basin, today's region of Xinjiang in China, where the Yuezhi, an Indo-European people were established. There are indications that Greek expeditions were led as far as Kashgar in Xinjiang. According to the Greek historian Strabo, the Greeks "extended their empire even as far as the Seres and the Phryni" (Strabo XI.II.I), possibly leading to the first known contacts between China and the West around 200 BCE. The descendants of the Greeks in Ferghana may be the Dayuan (lit. "Great Ionians") identified in the Chinese historical record of the Han Dynasty, starting with the embassies of Zhang Qian around 130 BCE. If so, they were the actors of the first major interaction between an urbanized Indo-European culture and the Chinese civilization, which led to the opening up the Silk Road from the 1st century BCE. According to the Roman writer Curtius, the descendants of these soldiers still retained their Hellenistic culture at the time of his writing, around 30 BCE. In Fiction Alexandria Eschate is the final destination of Euxenus son of Eutychides of the deme of Pallene, the protagonist of "Alexander at the World's End" by Tom Holt. "Horses of Heaven", by Gillian Bradshaw, is set in Alexandria Eschate, c.140 BCE. Footnotes References See the notes on "Northern Wuyi" = Alexndria Eschate in the draft annotated translation of the 3rd century Chinese history, the Weilüe, by John Hill at: http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html#section24 and http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/notes11_30.html#24_1 External links * Livius.org: Alexandria Eschatê Category:329 BC establishments Category:Settlements established in the 4th century BC Category:Hellenistic colonies Category:Ancient Greek cities Category:Former countries in Central Asia Category:Han Dynasty Category:Ancient Greeks in Asia Category:Cities along the Silk Road Category:Cities and settlements of Alexander the Great cs:Alexandria Eschaté cy:Alexandria Eschate es:Alejandría Escate pl:Aleksandria Eschate sh:Aleksandrija Eshata fi:Aleksandria Eskhate zh:絕域亞歷山卓